The first time I got acquainted with Royal Design Studio stencils at Haven 2013 I fell instantly in love! So naturally, when our master bedroom redo got underway, that’s who immediately came to mind for a pair of stenciled drop cloth curtains!
*A big thank-you to Royal Design Studio for providing me with the stencil for this project. All written content expressed in the article is – as always – my own, and no other compensation was provided.*
I’ve wanted to do some stenciled drop cloth curtains for, well… forever. The look of a design painted on the natural canvas just had me swooning! I chose the Fabric Damask all-over stencil. I knew the pattern had to be large, since each curtain panel would be done on a 6’x9′ drop cloth. I also knew that for the style of headboard I have chosen, the color choices I wanted to use and the somewhat sleeker look I had in mind, this damask design would bring the right amount of pattern and elegance to the room.
In case you’re not familiar with the nature of drop cloths, they aren’t perfect. They often aren’t straight and they sometimes have flaws. The two that I purchased weren’t too bad. One did have some picks on the right side, though, so I had to reach for my ‘knit-picker’ (never cut those pesky picks – you might leave a hole). With the knit picker, come up from the underside through to the top very near the thread and, hooking it, pull though to the underside. The result is no loose threads and a slight flaw that will never be noticeable when the stenciling is complete!
Before stenciling on a drop cloth you really need to launder it. I debated this step for days before deciding it would really be a good idea! Ironing just isn’t my thang, if you know what I mean! I laundered them in tepid warm water, and dried on low. Then I ironed them. Yep. All 12 feet by 9 feet!
They sure did look pretty when I got finished, though! Now for the fun part! Here are the supplies I used:
2 – 6’x9′ painter’s canvas drop cloths
2 sample sizes latex paint
in chosen color
2 bottles (6-8 oz) fabric or textile medium
Dense foam roller
, plus refills
1 – Stencil
I underestimated the amount of paint my all-over design would take. So, in hindsight, I would have gone ahead and bought a quart of paint instead of the 2 sample sizes. But, after mixing with the fabric medium, I had just enough. The purpose of the fabric medium is to help bond the paint to the fibers and to avoid the stiffness that you would have from applying undiluted paint straight onto the fabric. Once the stenciled design is heat set, the curtains can be washed with no problem to the design.
Tape the stencil down onto the fabric. To stencil with a roller, load your roller with paint and off-load by rolling onto some folded paper towels. This will distribute the paint evenly on the roller. Then begin rolling over the stencil with an even pressure. You may have to go back over it to get the desired coverage. Just follow the how-to-stencil page HERE or the instructions that come with your stencil, and you’ll be golden!
I do love how they turned out!! And to get a clue to the rest of the redo, just look at the left beyond the curtain panel! That’s where I tested my paint choices for the bedroom… coming soon!
I can’t wait to show you the rest!! Stay tuned!
Have a great weekend!
PS – Don’t forget to pin so you can refer to it later! And if you want to share it on Facebook so your friends can learn how, that’d be great!
This post is linked to Metamorphosis Monday
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This is amazing! So inspirational. How long did it take you, and did you have any issues with the paint smearing when it was still drying? I have some really enormous windows in my house and am finding it difficult to find curtains that are not only long enough, but also wide enough, that aren’t like, $400! I think this may be the perfect solution. Thank you!
Thanks, Jennifer! It did take me quite a while. But you could space out the pattern more, or use a stencil that isn’t so intricate. It really wasn’t hard, though, and totally worth it! I didn’t need my panels to be truly functional, so they aren’t as full as ones that you would pull together often. My window is about 98″ wide, so the rod is about 110-112″ across. I have 9 ft. ceilings, and I wanted them to go up to the crown mold and just puddle slightly at the floor.
Good luck!
These look amazing!!!!
Absolutely beautiful, Sondra!!!
Thanks so much, Emily!! Now if I can just get the room painted! :-/
Oh my goodness! Your stenciled curtains turned out fantastic! Pinning!
Thanks for the love, Jane!!
You did an awesome job! I love the pattern of the stencils! I have been wanting to try this, maybe I will? Your room is beautiful!
These turned out great! I’ve always wanted to try painting curtains, and this is a great tutorial. Pinned for later reference. Stopping by from the DIY Sunday Showcase. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
These curtains turned out so pretty! Great job
Really pretty! How do you mix the textile medium?
The textile medium has directions on the bottle, but I believe it is 2 parts paint to one part medium. Thanks for reading, Erika!
Beautiful. Truly beautiful. Are they stiff? Do they keep out the sun and the cold?
Thank you, Kathy! No, they’re not stiff. I took the time to wash and iron them, which takes out the ‘sizing’ from the manufacturer. Mine are not lined, and the sun peeks through a bit, so I may eventually put a lining on them. As far as the cold, I suppose it depends upon the age of your house/windows, but they seem to be doing a fine job!
This is fantastic timing. I just ordered my stencil online yesterday and have on hand from another project some floorcloth material for my kitchen. I’m going to do the stencil on a wall in dining room with gray and mettalic silver. And now in attached family room I can reposition my drapes all the way to the ceiling (which I’ve always wanted to do), with the same stencil. Great ideas.
Question for you. My stencil is a very simple, its called Morrocan Tile. Instead of painting my entire dining room metallic silver first (really expensive) and then using the stencil with grey, do you have any suggestions? My thoughts were tracing the stencil onto a new stencil sheet to reverse it, then using a silver metallic pen draw around the loops. What do you think?
Thanks for reading, Karen! I’ve given your question some thought, and it sounds like you have 2 options, one is costly, the other more time consuming! It sounds like your plan will work. Let me know how it turns out!
I can’t believe the end result! They look gorgeous! You would never know they were made out of drop clothes! I can see me making some pillows using this technique! I’ve wanted some of those cool nautical pillows but they go for $50+ ! No thank you! Especially when I have a dog that is part goat!
Thank you so much for the inspiration!
These are just gorgeous! Proof that style doesn’t have to cost a lot! Thanks for linking up at The Creative Circle! I hope you’ll join us again this week!
Hello my friend! Great tutorial and love them! Thanks for taking the time out of your day to link up with us at Sunday Features! So honored. Hope you are doing well. Shared last week on FB. And pinned! Miss ya! Hugs!
Thank you so much for featuring my curtains, Denise! I’m so glad to see your link party doing so well – it’s awesome!! Hugs to you and your kiddos!
This seems like a great idea, as at least 2 sides of the ‘new’ curtain you make will be hemmed already. But the stenciling. bleach pen designs, etc, sound like more work than I want. Has anyone dyed or tie-dyed them? Are they cotton?
What is ‘fabric medium’ and why is it necessary?thx
Hi Polly! The purpose of the fabric medium is to make the latex paint more pliable and incorporated into the fibers of the fabric. The finished result is soft and supple, whereas painting straight latex paint onto fabric creates a very stiff texture. And, as I stated in my post, when ironed (or heat-set) the fabric medium/paint mixture is fully washable.
Hope this helps!
-Sondra
So does that mean you iron them after they are stenciled to make them them safe for washing?
Hi Donna,
The instructions on the fabric medium, which is mixed with the paint to keep the fabric supple, directs user to iron fabric after applying paint (and dry) in order to ‘set’ the paint into the fabric.
Thanks for reading!
Are the dropcloths cotton? And do you know if they can be dyed or tie-dyed?
They are cotton, Polly. And I’m sure they could be tie-dyed and I’m certain they could be dyed. Let me know if you try it!
These are gorgeous. I came from our Bloggertunities list and will be featuring a photo of these on my Friday Faves. Thank you for the inspiration.
Thank you, Laurie!
Beautiful, but how did you attach them to the rod to hang them? I can’t tell from the pics, but I’ll take a guess that they’re the clips I’ve seen before? I have two sliding glass doors in my bedroom that need window dressings NOW and this seems like a perfect solution.
Hi Barb, thanks for reading! Yes, I attached them with the clip rings.
Thanks!
Love your drop cloth curtains I am redoing our bedroom in a light gray should I do the curtains in a darker gray or an accent color. Yours are amazing I would love too see the whole room. Faye
Can you use spray paint?
Thanks for the question, Eliz! I suppose you could, although this particular stencil company wouldn’t recommend using it with their stencils, I’m sure. To clean the stencil would require mineral spirits, or something stronger than mere soap and water. You would also need to protect the area beyond the stencil to prevent accidental overspray.
Thank you for making such a great tutorial, your curtains came out gorgeous!
I was wondering if you thought that painting the entire drop cloth first before stenciling would work? While the natural oatmeal is pretty, I’m currently living in a pretty beige rental apartment and would love to be able to have the background to the stencil also be a color to add some more interest to the place.
Thank you, Ama! There might be a couple of ways to bring some color to the drop cloths. I wouldn’t totally cover them with paint, tho. What you could try is dyeing them. Use the RIT dye and your washing machine and you could make them just about any color you want. You could then even stencil on top of that. I just think to paint the entire drop cloth would be a)-likely to give an uneven finish b)-likely to make them stiff, even using fabric sizing in your paint, and c)-more labor-intensive than necessary. Personally, I think if you did the stenciling in a color that might be enough, and pull that color into the room with pillows and throws. Hope this helps!
STUNNING! Thanks.
I bought some drop clothes to try this. They have a horizontal french seam across the middle of them. Did yours have this feature? I bought mine at Walmart.
Lovely curtains!!! Which color did you use? I originally plan to do it in white color but now I’m having a second thoughts… dark gray or black? It’ll be nice contrast for my living room with beige, cream white and gray colors sofa/pillows.
Hi Barbara! Thanks for stopping by!
I used a dark gray, almost charcoal color. Be sure to follow directions and launder the drop cloth first, then mix fabric medium with the paint.
Good Luck!
Sondra
Thanks for a quick reply! What brand did you use for latex paint if I may ask? Did you just wash the drop cloth once or twice? I was told to do that twice or triple and dry well.
I just washed once. And I used 2 samples of latex paint from Home Depot, but because my job was so big, would have bought a quart if I did it again.
Love, Love, Love the look!! How did you heat set the stencil once completed?
Thank you so much!! The directions on the fabric medium are to heat set with an iron and that’s what I did.
So you just run a hot iron over the stenciling you just did? do you wait for a day or so for the paint to completely dry before heat setting? Thank you so much for all the info.
Yes, Jolene. There are instructions on the bottle of fabric medium as to how to ‘heat set’ your project, and it is after it has been allowed to dry thoroughly. I don’t remember the exact wait time, but you should follow the directions on your fabric medium container. I ironed on the back side, if I remember correctly.
This is an amazing piece of work and art! Thanks for sharing…
Hello – I am going to try this myself. It is a great solution for my overly large farmhouse window – thanks for sharing! I have read over the comments and instructions but I didn’t see anywhere if you used more than one stencil? I couldn’t tell from the pictures either? My concern would be if doing the same stencil and pattern you used do you have to stencil one, wait till it dries before you do the next one?
Hi Mandy! No, I only used one stencil. And you are using so little paint that I didn’t worry about letting it dry before proceeding to the next one. There are markings on the stencil that help you line it up to the one you previously did, so that part isn’t difficult. I also wasn’t worried about perfection (thank goodness!), so my main goal was getting it done!
Late to the party, I know ? But I can’t find the final paint color you choose for your bedroom. Could you please let me know?
We chose Comfort Gray!
These are beautiful. Do you have to use drop cloths? Can any other plain white or off-white fabric be used to create the curtains. I must try this. I want to make curtains for my master bath but have not found any fabric that I really like. This may be my solution.
I’m sure you could use whatever fabric you wish, Sheila! I just liked the texture and color of the drop cloths… plus the price!!